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Chapter Three

NATE

Anger blooms in my chest, coiling around my heart like vines. The blood pumps faster through my veins. Every inch of my skin flares with heat.

Until a few seconds ago, I was distracted by River, ready to lick and bite his bare chest. He sits on my bed, legs spread, shirt tossed on the floor. Even his naked torso isn’t enough to calm my rage.

In the mirrored wall, I see my laptop open on my desk, revealing the digital wallpaper of River and me in our bathing suits, sitting on the beach. Before I left the house, I had turned off the computer and shoved it into my desk drawer.

“What the fuck?”

The tip of my cock sticks out from my boxer briefs, leaking onto the fabric. I want to shove it between River’s lips, make him choke and gag, and beg for more. But I can’t stop shaking.

I’m hoping my eyes have deceived me. “Someone was… Who was in here?”

River shakes his head. “Our teammates wouldn’t?—”

“Someone touched my shit,” I point out.

I stalk over to the desk and sit in the chair, my fingers stroking the cold leather. A sweet scent burrows into my nostrils, a perfume I recognize. It’s fresh, the scent clinging to the air.

Samantha was here.

I haven’t spoken to her in weeks or seen her on campus. After our fight at the house, she avoided me and cut off all ties.

Don’t overreact , I remind myself. Try to stay calm .

“My chair smells like Samantha.”

He shakes his head in disbelief. “No way. She wouldn’t break into the house. I can’t see her doing that.”

“We rarely lock the front door. Most of the guys forget their keys. If she paid attention to our schedules, she would know when no one would be home.”

“Most of the guys are here.” River hunches beside my chair. “Even if she managed to get into the house unnoticed, how would she get your password?”

I lean back and sigh. “Because I’m a fucking idiot. I let her sit on my lap and watch me edit the video I sent you the last time we fucked her. She must have paid attention when I unlocked my computer.”

“Fuck,” River mutters. “I told you something was off about her. That we couldn’t trust her.”

I don’t want to hear I told you so right now. So, I turn away from River and start checking my files. Scanning the desktop, I don’t see anything missing. Most of my homemade porn is hidden on a special drive. Samantha watched me access it.

When I open the folder labeled Samantha , it’s empty. My hands shake from the anger rolling through me, and I clutch the arms of the chair.

“She deleted everything we filmed with her.”

I search the other folders and see they are untouched.

Thank fuck .

I have several hundred videos and pictures of River and me with various women. Recently, I created a folder called River . That’s where I keep the videos I made for him. I even have a subfolder labeled First Times . Inside, there’s the picture of the first time I jerked off River and came on his ass.

“She could have asked me to delete the videos of her.”

River bites his lip, eyes narrowed. “If you had been nicer, she wouldn’t have done this to us.”

I consider his suggestion, but it’s too late to worry about the past. What I should have done doesn’t matter.

“Do you remember what she said last time we saw her?”

River nods. “She said she kept our secret because she liked us… and could tell everyone about me .”

I roll my shoulders against the leather chair. “She was totally in love with us.”

“In love with you,” River shoots back at me. “You texted her every day. She was over here all the time.”

“I told her the truth. I never led her on. I was honest from the start about it just being sex. It’s not my fault she couldn’t get it through her thick head.”

River bites his trembling lip, those sad, green eyes searing into my soul. I hate it when he’s upset.

I lead River to the bed. “Look, if it’s Samantha, she signed an NDA. She won’t get a dime from the publisher. The book deal will go away.”

Samantha isn’t the first to blackmail us, but we liked her the most.

Well, I did.

I would have kept Samantha longer if River hadn’t gotten sick of her. She was the most adventurous of the girls and willing to try anything. The last time we fucked, we had fun, but I couldn’t get hard without watching an old video of River.

I regret nothing.

It was time to move on.

River was right.

And I only want him .

I flash a confident smirk. “I’ll get her to hand over what she stole.”

River curls his arms around me and sighs. “This has to work, Nate. I can’t do this anymore. I’m so sick of keeping a secret life. I want to be with you.”

I shove the dark brown hair from his eyes and kiss his forehead, nose, and lips. “Don’t let that bitch get the best of you. We got this, okay?”

“My dad will kill me if she leaks any of the videos. I’ll never hear the end of it. And my career… I won’t have one.”

“You’re too good for the NHL not to let you play,” I say because he needs a reminder of his talent.

River has one of the most recognizable faces on the East Coast. His sex tape—with a man, of all people—would be worth millions. I won’t let Samantha get away with breaking into my house and stealing my shit.

I cup River’s shoulder, feeling the nervous energy hum through his body. “We’re hunters, Riv, not the hunted.”

He laughs at my family’s motto.

“We make hot porn, don’t we?” I hook my arm around him and kiss his cheek. “I want to make more of it with you.”

He slaps my bicep. “I’m not joking, Nate. This isn’t funny.”

“It’s a little funny,” I say because humor is my go-to when stressed. “Think I could do OnlyFans if this lawyer thing doesn’t work out?”

I waggle my eyebrows, and River punches my bicep.

“Now, you’re just being a dick. I feel like I’m about to have a fucking heart attack…. and you’re cracking jokes.”

Someone bangs on the door and ruins our moment. River moves away from me at record speed and opens the door. Jimmy Waters, that savage wall of man, stands in the entryway, hands on his hips, his head nearly touching the frame.

With his usual shake of disapproval, he frowns. “Everyone’s ready to leave for the club. Do I have to throw you rich fuckers over my shoulders and drag you downstairs? Or would you homos like that too much?”

I close the distance between us and bump our chests. “Say that again, motherfucker. I dare you.”

“I was just fucking around.” Waters raises his hand for me to tap. “We’re good. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Do you ever think before you speak?” I snap, my nostrils flaring, anger pooling inside me.

River clears his throat behind me. Without looking at him, I know what he wants. So, I bump our fists, hating the feel of Waters’ rough skin against mine.

Waters attends Kingston University on a partial sports scholarship, paying the remainder with grants and loans. He has always resented River for getting a full ride when he can afford the tuition. But he just hates me—period. Or maybe he hates me because I’m wealthy and spoiled. And I’m not shy about it. I see no point in hiding who I am.

“As much as I would love for you to throw me over your shoulder and manhandle me,” I say with a cocky grin, “I can walk down the stairs on my own, Big Boy. Thanks for the offer, though.”

He glares at me, gripping the doorframe like he’s holding the damn thing up. “Stop playing games. We’ve been waiting for you two to stop sucking each other’s dicks.”

I had forgotten about my offer to take them to Lucky’s, a gesture I made during dinner without a second thought. Such a giver I am. Sometimes, I wonder if my housemates only tolerate me because of my generosity. That’s probably accurate, given my attitude.

I bob my head. “Yeah, yeah. Go without us. We’ll meet you guys at the club.”

He glares at me, then disappears without a word.

River moves to my side, hands on his narrow waist. “What about Samantha?”

“We’ll stop by her dorm on the way.”